Bonnie Tyler, the beloved singer renowned for her raspy voice, has died at 75 following recent health complications.
Tyler gave us several memorable songs over the course of her nearly 50-year career, including her signature hit, “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” Written and produced by legendary songwriter Jim Steinman, who also collaborated with Meat Loaf and Air Supply, the track was released in 1983 and became a massive hit, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks and earning Tyler a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
“Total Eclipse of the Heart” has become a multigenerational pop culture mainstay, its reach extending from a classic episode of Glee to William Shatner’s memorable (?) duet with “Taiwan’s Susan Boyle” on the talent competition series Super Star Avenue.
The song has also enjoyed a long life on the big screen, where it’s been incorporated into comedies, dramas, and even horror movies in ways both subversive and earnest. Below, we’re revisiting five memorable movie scenes elevated by Tyler’s greatest hit.
01 of 05
Urban Legend (1998)
Natasha Gregson Wagner in ‘Urban Legend’
Credit: TriStar Pictures
You simply can’t make this list without including Urban Legend, the 1998 slasher film about a serial killer inspired by famous urban legends.
In the movie’s famous opening scene, college student Michelle (Natasha Gregson Wagner) is listening to “Total Eclipse of the Heart” when she pulls into a gas station on a rainy night. After tense misdirect involving a gas station attendant played by Brad Dourif (the iconic voice of Chucky in Child’s Play), a panicked Michelle gets back into her car and nervously sings along to Tyler’s hit through tears —only for a mysterious figure to emerge from the backseat and kill her.
02 of 05
Old School (2003)
Will Ferrell and Perrey Reeves dancing to The Dan Band in ‘Old School’
Credit: DreamWorks Pictures
Just as iconic is the song’s inclusion in the classic 2003 comedy Old School, starring Will Ferrell, Luke Wilson, and Vince Vaughn as three downtrodden thirtysomethings who start their own fraternity.
Early in the film, during the wedding reception for Ferrell’s character, the band — played by real-life group The Dan Band — performs an impassioned cover of “Total Eclipse of the Heart” that emphasizes the song’s epic qualities while throwing in some hilariously unnecessary profanity.
03 of 05
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)
Zachary Gordon in ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’
Credit: 20th Century Fox
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010) isn’t the only family film to feature a Bonnie Tyler song (see: “Holding Out for a Hero” in Shrek 2), but it might be the cutest.
While trying to become the most popular kid in middle school, Greg (Zachary Gordon) auditions for the school’s annual production of The Wizard of Oz. As part of the audition, the students are asked to sing “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” resulting in a hilarious montage of preteens struggling through Tyler’s song before the scene takes an unexpected turn.
04 of 05
The Strangers: Prey at Night (2018)
‘The Strangers: Prey at Night’
Credit: Aviron Pictures
Not to be confused with the recent trilogy reboot, The Strangers: Prey at Night is the 2018 sequel to 2008’s indelible horror favorite and is in several ways better than it has any right to be.
The film’s best scene, in which Lewis Pullman’s character squares off against the titular killers at a motel swimming pool, might have been effective on its own, but the brazen use of “Total Eclipse of the Heart” — 20 years after Urban Legend used it so perfectly — gives the sequence a subversive edge that makes it all the more memorable.
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05 of 05
The Last Showgirl (2024)
Jamie Lee Curtis in ‘The Last Showgirl’
Credit: Roadside Attractions
You can always count on Jamie Lee Curtis to really go for it. That’s certainly the case in The Last Showgirl, the 2024 indie drama starring Pamela Anderson as the longtime headliner of a fading Las Vegas revue that’s on the verge of closing. Curtis plays her friend, a former showgirl-turned-cocktail waitress who indulges her dreams of the spotlight with the occasional performance on the casino floor. You can see where this is going.
In one of the film’s most memorable scenes, Curtis dances to Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” fully embodying the heartbreak and pathos of a woman longing for her glory days.
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